discouraged...

[The Kraken]

Smash,
I certainly don't think that what you experienced were the best conditions for instruction for a new diver. But, alas, sometimes you just have to play the cards you were dealt.

After you've gotten a few dives under you belt go back and dive those conditions again.

Being able to dive those conditions without undue anxiety will make you a much more accomplished diver.

When diving with a buddy of unknown ability/experience, it is so easy to identify the diver who has experienced diving in demanding environments.

I'd much rather dive with a diver who dives predominantly bad conditions than I would a diver who does just the clear, warm water circuit.

the K

 

[Paco]

Holy cow! That would really have terrified me to have the reg knocked out 3 times!!! You are a trooper....in response to whoever asked about shivering, I started shivering the minute I got below the thermocline. I felt darn toasty at 52F at the top lol. Everyone in the class was cold, we tried to make the dive "quick" but because termperature and manual dexterity seem to be directly proportional, it took each person FOREVER to do the most simple of tasks, and the class was full. I'm just glad it's over.....and I did get certified a month later once the water warmed up, but haven't gotten the first experience out of my mind. You all have given me some excellent advice and now I know there's hope! smash

I love your signature line and can't wait for the sequel.

 

[wreckchick]

Oh fine, I'll be the devil's advocate. There are some people who shouldn't dive, period. It is NOT a sport for everyone.

Smash does not sound like one of those people, but the comment is correct.

I live and work in the Florida Keys, we have beautiful warm water, lots of pretty colorful fish and one of the best beginner reefs in the world. Smash, you want to come down and give it a try, you just let me know and I'll dive with you and see how you go.

As a final comment, since all my early diving was in horrible cold nasty no-vis conditions.... I miss it!!! I really want to go back and do some of that type of diving. It has been so instrumental in my comfort here you can't believe. If the vis shuts down on us out at the reef or on the wreck, I don't care, I'm used to it, everyone else gets a wild-eyed look but I can do my dive with no problem whatsoever.

If you can dive in inclement conditions, anything better is easy.

Rachel

 

[Atticus]

I teach scuba diver (open water) classes in Lake Tahoe where the temps are frequently in the low 40's. My point was that a diver who has had a difficult time and wants to know how to overcome the anxiety would do much better in warm water that doesn't require heavy wet suits, drysuits, etc.

You can absolutely learn to dive in the cold limited vis quarry that you started in, and to do so in relative comfort. A few warm water dives might be a nice stepping stone in that direction that would also provide some positive feedback for you and show you that diving can be fun.

 

[BabyDuck]

not to 'smash-bash' AT ALL, but when you went up, you did give the 'up' signal & get an acknowledgment & go up in a normal slow way, right? i totally understand how miserable you must have been and absolutely agree with everyone that you can get past this with a bit of work and think the 'not made to dive' comment was uncalled-for. i'm just wondering, if you did more of a bolt than a normal ascent then maybe that was what the guy was talking about more than the fact you got too cold and called the dive. being cold is an underwater problem that can NOT be solved underwater, but if your anxiety and misery got to a point where you got very focused on getting up to the exclusion of remembering how to do it safely, the guy may have a point though he expressed it in a horribly demeaning way and you probably should still 'fire' him. you don't have to tell us if you did get a bit toward panicky and just leave, and i wouldn't blame you if you did, and i'm not *saying* you did, but *if* you did, that might be what the lecturer was actually trying to get at, and not that you thumbed the dive. nobody should ever be lectured for that. (i'm really not accusing you of bolting, and you really don't have to respond or defend yourself. the main point, anyway, is that you will be able to move past this anxiety since it seems to have been very situational with a lot of things a little bit wrong - murphy's favorite way of gettin' to ya.)

 

[mrobinson]

You're describing a bad dive with some real winner instructing staff. I'm sorry to hear that. I think you did great with the situation and shouldn't too tough on yourself. I can tell an incident like this will just amplify your desire to continue with diving.

I too had problems with anxiety. Apparently we're not alone.
http://www.scubaboard.com/cms/article3.html
http://www.deeperblue.net/article.php/236/12
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/article.asp?articleid=38
http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/communications/diving/panic.htm

"Are certain diving activities more likely to lead to panic episodes?
Yes. Diver panic is usually caused by such objective stresses as equipment malfunctioning, sudden loss of visibility, entrapment (e.g., seaweed, nets), threatening marine life (e.g., sharks), loss of orientation during a cave, ice or wreck dive, and so on. Therefore, diving with faulty or inappropriate equipment, or performing high-risk dives will have greater potential for panic episodes. However, it should also be noted that the problems resulting from high-risk dives can be prevented or minimized with appropriate training and cautionary actions.”
That is from http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/communications/diving/panicQA.html


It's not just articles like these that help us out. I've found with more training, your comfort level will exceed. Good luck and I'm glad you've continued with diving.

 

[Iruka]

Some people take to diving right away, others absolutely can't deal with it, and some fight through early problems and eventually come to really enjoy diving. A student I had a year or so back was REALLY uncomfortable with the idea/sensation of breathing underwater (even though we were in perfectly calm, warm, shallow...1m/3'....water.) After doing my best to "reason away" any fears he had, I realized we'd just have to wait & see. So, with an inflated BCD, he spent a full 1 1/2 hours on the surface, with his face in the water....basically snorkelling on scuba gear....never getting in water more than chest deep. So, rather than hurrying him along, I just said "take your time...when YOU think you're ready to try to do some of the skills, we'll give it a shot. If you can't move on with this, that's okay...no law says you HAVE to be a diver." Anyhow, he ended up doing ~12 dives here after his certification, and this year came back to Guam & did another 10 or 11 dives. So it was kind of gratifying to see someone who had SO MUCH trouble at the beginning, actually stick with it and have a great time.

 

[friscuba]

You can't fix COLD underwater. All the scuba class books tell you to get out. Your DM was a jerk.

45 minutes in that temperature of water is tough enough for people much larger than you. At 110 lbs (think I read this somewhere in the thread) you should be freezing compared to anyone larger, assuming you are wearing similar thermal protection. I've seen women your size requiring double the thermal protection of most guys, and that's in 80 degree water.

I'm assuming you were diving wet, ill fitting wetsuits aren't helping at all, and I suspect the vast majority of the divers would have their heads going numb in that time in 40 degree water.

Get to some place warmer or cut the length of your underwater training sessions and you will probably be fine.

Hi all,

Question for divers out there who have had "anxiety" problems...

Is it possible to overcome this?

I had a bad experience for my OW...lips froze after 45 min at 40 degrees in 5 foot vis...I started breathing in water and the DM took me up from 40 feet. And promptly got a speech about "fixing problems underwater", although I'm not sure what I could have done to stay warmer- my rental suit didn't fit well. Anyway, I've done 10 dives since then, each time practicing skills on the platform to get more comfortable and staying relatively shallow. I feel like I'm getting more comfortable, but the OW thing still haunts me.

One of my very experienced buddies commented that there are those who were born to dive, and those who were not. This hit me kind of hard. I'm clearly a "not", but I want to work through it b/c I'm a grad student in ocean engineering and diving will likely be a part of my career. Sooo......is it possible to get over the anxiety??? I want to be a good diver so badly, but I don't want to keep beating my head against a brick wall if I'm just not born to dive.

thanks for all input.
smash

 

[spectrum]

I'm sure that there are people who just aren't cut out for diving but having gone as far as you have I'd guess that it's a 99.99% sure thing there's lots of diving in your future. Your acomplishments up to that incident and you follow-up diving are a testament to that.

My wife and I got certified together and she spent an evening surface swimming on scuba and by the end of the night walked down into the deep end. Once she got past a few things she did fine and we did our 12th post certification dive this morning and she's a smoother more confident diver each time. Everyone adapts to this unnatural activity at their own pace. Confidence and true competence comes with comfort.

Draggng divers down for those sort of cold, limited visiblity dives with marginal exposure protection as standard practice in "full class" groups is cruel and no way to grow the sport. We have some instructors up here that say when you're done with the pool work your in the ocean to finish up no mater when or what conditions. We started our classes in mid February and were never rushed to be in the water on the first dive weekend early in April. Due to variius and sundry delays we completed our open water dives on 2 Saturdays late in June and it was a joy.

Take your time, dive within your comfort zone with propper gear that you know and trust. When you're ready, consider AOW to help you dip your toe into deeper diving, nightdiving, more navigation or whatever offerings will enhance your scuba experience.

You have all the hard work behind you. Keep at it and you will be rewarded both personally and professionaly.

Pete

 

[Paco]

Hi all,

Question for divers out there who have had "anxiety" problems...

Is it possible to overcome this?

I had a bad experience for my OW...lips froze after 45 min at 40 degrees in 5 foot vis...I started breathing in water and the DM took me up from 40 feet. And promptly got a speech about "fixing problems underwater", although I'm not sure what I could have done to stay warmer- my rental suit didn't fit well. Anyway, I've done 10 dives since then, each time practicing skills on the platform to get more comfortable and staying relatively shallow. I feel like I'm getting more comfortable, but the OW thing still haunts me.

One of my very experienced buddies commented that there are those who were born to dive, and those who were not. This hit me kind of hard. I'm clearly a "not", but I want to work through it b/c I'm a grad student in ocean engineering and diving will likely be a part of my career. Sooo......is it possible to get over the anxiety??? I want to be a good diver so badly, but I don't want to keep beating my head against a brick wall if I'm just not born to dive.

thanks for all input.
smash

Hi Smash,

First of all, I'm posting under my hb's username cuz I'm not sure how to log out and log in as myself. Your post really spurred me though, simply because I was in your situation...well, ok, I bailed on the POOL in 4' of water (mask removal)!!! My problem was panicking underwater. I'm a VERY strong swimmer, and was trying to associate the 2 sports...apparently doesn't work. Since then my hb (Paco, on this board) has very, VERY patiently taken me through everything, step by step, and literally, inch by inch to help me to feel comfy and confident in the water. I did my OW at the end of July '03, and I'll admit that I had a few episodes following my certification. But, the more I get into the water and recognize what my stressers are and fix them, the better and better everything gets. Believe it or not, but this summer, I completed my AOW AND, just yesterday I completed my Rescue cert.

Don't give up or listen to those pompous suggestions, just give yourself the time that YOU need to figure things out and get comfy. Hope this helps...


Lisa